Research
Every day, we're supporting new generations of scientists studying natural and cultural history, past and present.
The Mayborn’s Broader Impacts program and Bryce C. Brown Fellowships are at the leading edge of scientific research at Baylor University, conducting research to make world-impacting discoveries.
Our research partners utilize the Mayborn’s 200,000+ artifacts and specimens. From Ancient Marine Reptiles to historic buildings, from Ice Age Mammoths to Texas textiles, our collections are the evidence of the beauty of the earth.
Our Broader Impacts
In 2015, the Mayborn Museum joined the Portal to the Public Network of practitioners funded by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services and facilitated by Institute for Learning Innovation. Baylor University researchers are encouraged to partner with the Mayborn Museum to reach broader impact requirements for national and international grant applications.
The result is a collaborative effort with the Mayborn Museum and Baylor University departments to engage community audiences with current research through programming or exhibition.
Mayborn Research Partners will enhance their abilities to share research through hands-on activities that engage audiences of all ages through a half-day training on engagement strategies provided by the Mayborn Museum. Learn more!
Featured Broader Impacts research partners:
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Director, Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory. Scullin was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Grant to propel his research, studying the impact of sleep habits on a student’s ability to learn complex STEM materials.
Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering. Ling has won a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Grant to study spray and to pioneer understanding of these complicated conditions through rigorous modeling and high-powered computing.
Associate professor of geosciences at Baylor University
Funded Fellowships
In 2017, in order to generate original research based upon its collections, Mayborn Museum created the Bryce C. Brown Research Fellowship.
Each spring the Museum invites Baylor University faculty, as well as PhD and graduate students, to apply for Fellowship opportunities. Access to the collection and a stipend of $2,000 is awarded to one Fellow using the natural history collection and one Fellow using the cultural history collection.
The majority of the research is scheduled to be conducted during the summer months. The stipend is considered financial aid and will affect total monies received.
Past Bryce C. Brown award recipients and their projects have included:
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology: convergence in mammalian skull morphology across ecological, life history, and evolutionary gradients. 2021
PhD Student, Department of Religion: research project and presentation on the museum’s archaeological collection from the ancient Near East. 2019
PhD Student, Department of Biology: research and organization of the freshwater mussel collection. 2018
Our Collections
The Mayborn Museum’s collections date from the mid-1850s and includes objects and their associated information from the fields of history, ethnography, archaeology, zoology, botany, geology, and paleontology.
Up until the 1990s the Museum accepted donations of objects collected from around the world. The collecting scope of the Museum was updated to focus primarily on the state of Texas. Over the years the Mayborn Museum’s collections have been accessed by researchers from the US and around the world.
Researchers can find our collections in two locations
The Mayborn Museum recently partnered with the William J. Hill Texas Artisans & Artists Archive. This online archive facilitates research of Texas arts by documenting the lives, work, and products of Texas artisans and artists through 1900.
The Mayborn Museum publishes collection data for its Bioscience collections on the VertNET portal. VertNET is an NSF-funded collaborative project that makes biodiversity data free and available online for researchers. Data published to VertNET is also sent to other data portals, including iDigBio and GBiF, ensuring our data is available through a wide range of outlets.
What the Scientists Say
“The Mayborn Museum is a trusted and committed partner to Baylor research and science outreach. The Mayborn’s NSF-funded Portal to the Public training program and outreach programs such as, Meet the Scientists and Sic ‘em Science, are ideal opportunities for faculty, postdocs, and students who are pursuing science outreach or Broader Impacts options for young children through adult learning.”
“The Mayborn has been an ideal collaboration for our lab. We consistently receive top marks for broader impacts on our NSF grants and the training experiences afforded to our students have been outstanding. Museum staff are enthusiastic, organized, and supportive. Baylor faculty are fortunate to have such an amazing resource for communicating their science to the public and enhancing the broader impact of their work.”
Get Involved
If the Mayborn can support your research proposal, contact A_Love@baylor.edu.
Contact Anita_Benedict@baylor.edu for more information about working with the Museum’s collection.